Rounding Third and. . .

What will the 2nd half bring to America's Team?

Safe at home in October?

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The next 17 days will take the measure of the local hardball Dream. Sixteen games, 17 days, four opponents with a collective W percentage of 56. Brewers, Giants, D-Backs, Dodgers. Four playoff contenders, one day off between today and Aug. 10. That’s one hellacious way to prove you belong.

To continue their run of defiance, the Reds will have to meet baseball convention or re-write it. Pitching wins championships. Rookies come back to earth. Teams that don’t spend lots of money don’t win 25 more games this year than they did last year. Run-DLC’s run as Marvel superhero isn’t open-ended. Baseball doesn’t work that way.

No one doubts the Reds’ impact on the season narrative. Everyone, it seems, questions their endurance. Sixteen in 17 is nothing if not a test of that. You can’t be a sprinter and a marathoner at the same time.

Can the Club dance through the minefield, one Run-DLC mind-blower at a time? Or will the kids begin to show their collective age? Most of us have vinyl records older than Elly De La Cruz.

In Reds Country today, the worst word in the English language is “regression’’. That’s the term applied to young big-leaguers who fall to earth after a one- or two-month soar. In a dizzying five weeks, Run-DLC has been credited with everything but inventing the game. (There are those who say he has, in fact, re-invented it.)

But De La Cruz is human, and even the most accomplished humans can’t always hit a curveball.

In some very real sense, the kids are playing with house money already. A regr-. . . regr-. . . regr-. . . a gentle float back to reality would not erase 12 consecutive Ws, the rejuvenation of Joey, the comic-book emergence of DLC, a 1st-place-spot at the All Star Break. Not even the most egregious cynic could witness a regr-. . . and claim the season to be anything other than enjoyable.

Cincinnati O-HI-O

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The ‘23 Reds have rescued a franchise from the brink of mass apathy, already. Pass them the gravy. They’ve earned it.

And yet. . .

You want more. You’re not ready to push yourself away from the banquet table. Dessert awaits. No one can eat just one chocolate-covered strawberry.

The promise for the Reds is, speed doesn’t slump. It might tire, but the mindset that drives it does not. The Reds lead MLB in something called Average Sprint Speed (ASS). They’re better than anybody at 1st-to-3rd, at avoiding 6-4-3s, at burrowing holes in opposing pitchers’ psyches.

Everyone can hit, at least adequately, so a collective slump isn’t likely. Hunter Greene will return in a few weeks. Nick Lodolo will follow. Given their extended absences, pitch counts and innings ceilings won’t apply to them. (They will to Andrew Abbott.)

Still, they have a pitching problem. Insufficient starters, overworked relievers, not a bona fide ace or stopper in the bunch. The Brewers know what to expect from Burnes and Woodruff. David Bell just wants someone to get him through an uneventful five.

Regardless, baseball around here has rarely been this intriguing. It resumes tonight at the Small Park. Time to resume witnessing a miracle. Or hoping for one.

AND NOW. . .

Hey Michelle! has so many things for you to do, you’d need to be eight places at once. Or own a station wagon.

Our first place Reds are back!!! Friday for 10 in a row!  

Celtic Fest ~ Raise your glass to the celebration of Irish culture at the Guinness Fest with tons of great food, music and of course beer at the new Red Leprechaun on the Banks. Friday 5-11, Saturday 12-11 and Sunday 12-7. Mass on Sunday at 10am followed by breakfast!  This Irish girl can’t wait .. Sláinte ! 

29th Blues Fest ~ Saturday at Village Green Park 2:30-10:30 with Ben Leven (love him), Lil’ Jimmy Reed, Bywater Call, Sugaray Rayford and more! Kid Zone, food trucks and beer. Free admission!

Paradise Music & Beer Fest ~ Braxton Brewing street fest in Covington with bands starting at noon Saturday & Sunday 

Skate and Stretch ~ Start your morning with the Neon PJ Party Saturday at the Riverfront Rink at 9am for yoga and then skating for all ages 10-11:30 and adult skate 11:30-1 with DJ Sneaks and Dj Jigg.. Free coffee, bites & skates all morning. 

St. Cecilia Parish Fest ~ Oakley on Madison Rd. Live music Friday night The Remains,  Saturday Gee Your Band Smells Terrific and Sunday Saffire Express (some of my favs). Raffles, game booths, kid zone, food and FUN 

Free Shakespeare in the Park! ~ Go see The Comedy of Errors this weekend Friday 7:00 at Flagship Park Erlanger, Saturday 7:00 Serenity Park Lincoln Heights, Sunday 8:00 Veterans Park Springfield check schedule for more dates. 

Bastille Day in Montgomery ~ Saturday 4-11pm! This event has been going on for as long as I can remember. Celebrate this French holiday with 2 stages playing  live music and tons of food vendors.

Do you want to know where to eat, drink and have fun in Cincinnati? Follow me @HeyMichelle1 on IG 
https://heymichelle-help.com

IMBIBER DAVE pays deserved props to Trader Joe’s

We’re back baby! In the USA that is, and man does it feel good to be home. Traveling was most excellent, but nothing compares to easily understandable concepts like the inch, mile, or whatever the hell a horsepower is.

I’ve written about several important subjects during my longstanding tenure here at TML HQ (at least in my mind). Some of you know this tenure extends all the way back to Doc’s days at Corporate.

Now this one has been mentioned by yours truly before, all the way back in 2022, and was described as a mind blown occurrence, so I’m not entirely sure how to be more dramatic now. Let’s just ask a simple question. What are you doing, Trader Joe’s?

Bottled in Bond Bourbon for $15? A complete lineup of 8 and 10 year single malts from Speyside, Highland, and Islay regions?

All of these are truly remarkable. They have officially replaced my daily drives, since they not only taste great but don’t give you a subpar aftertaste or hangover the next day despite the value pricing.

Now back in the day when we could imbibe on the TML expense account, and a Blantons, Balvenie or Macallan 12 could be shared among friends almost any night of the week. But today I fundamentally refuse to pay best case $75 retail for a product that tastes the same it did when the price was half that.

I guess the moral of the story is imbibing has a conscience, and I can’t justify enjoying certain things as often anymore. Thankfully our quirky friends at TJs have made it easy for us to keep living the high life.

Cheers!
cincybeerguydave@gmail.com

TRUCKIN’ RIGHT ALONG. . .

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LONG LIVE THE DEAD. . . A loooooong strange trip, indeed.

They’ve been farewell-ing longer than some of their fans have been alive. They were dead, not Dead, when Jerry Garcia passed, nearly 28 years ago. They declared themselves dead in 2015, with a farewell tour. Some diehards wished them dead when they brought in John Mayer to play lead guitar. They got over it.

But now, as the NY Times writes,

Now there is yet another farewell. After more than 200 shows, Dead & Company has sold out stadiums across the country with its so-called Final Tour. The run concludes this weekend with three shows at Oracle Park in San Francisco, the city where the Grateful Dead formed nearly 60 years ago.

“It’s a part of the life cycle. In life, there’s death,” drummer Mickey Hart said in a video interview. “But it all depends on what you call death. Because there’s life after death — in music, anyway.”

Added John Mayer, “There’s something about the fantasy of transience for people who don’t necessarily have it in their lives, like myself,” he added. “The fantasy of the perpetual searcher, the person with the knapsack who can sleep on couch after couch. Most people who go to Dead concerts don’t necessarily live that life, but aspire to spiritually have this devil-may-care attitude.”

I like the Grateful Dead. Their music is fabulous on long drives. I could cruise from Loveland to Beijing and never hear the same tune twice.

But I’m not extreme about it. Some bands simply provoke weird loyalty. Phish, certainly. Rush. Springsteen. Why?

I’ve seen the Stones four times, but not since 1995 in Tampa. They’d become a vaudeville act even then, and though their music remained timeless, their act was a little strange. Now? I mean, Mick Jagger is 79 now. You’re going to take him seriously as he struts across the stage, lamenting he can’t get no satisfaction?

But the Dead, man. The Dead are still groovy.

We have any Deadheads in This Space? Do you sell grilled cheese sandwiches from the back of your VW bus? Does their music still move you? Do tell.

Meantime, here’s my favorite Dead tune.